1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to metering and monitoring systems, and more particularly to a multi-purpose monitoring apparatus which is externally attachable for selective use with injection molding machines, die stamping machines, blow molding machines, mill insertion and/or stuffing machinery, vending machines, copy machines, facsimile machines, duplicating machines, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Machine monitoring systems familiar to those skilled in the art are generally dedicated to a specific function or set of functions associated with a single type of machine. For example, one type of machine monitoring system known in the art is specifically dedicated to monitoring office machine data. Other types of machine monitoring systems are dedicated to monitoring injection molding machine functional status. Such dedicated machine monitoring systems have disadvantages however, such as the perpetual necessity to completely redesign the associated hardware, firmware and/or software when it is desired to use the same monitoring system for monitoring the operational status of dissimilar types of machines. It is well known for example, that an injection molding machine monitoring system is generally designed to accommodate specific attributes of the particular injection molding machine being monitored, e.g. communications protocols, physical data input mechanisms and/or devices. Furthermore, such dedicated monitoring systems are not easily reconfigured to accommodate future modifications to the machine(s) being monitored. It is therefore advantageous to have a generic machine metering and monitoring apparatus that is easily externally attachable and adaptable for use with more than a single type of machine where it is necessary or otherwise desirable to continuously meter and/or monitor the operational status of the machine(s).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,975, issued Mar. 18, 1997, U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,650, issues Jul. 23, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,671, issued May 21, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,369, issued May 3, 1994, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,120, issued Apr. 5, 1994 each disclose methods and apparatus dedicated to injection machine data collection and/or control. U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,918, issued November 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,952, issued Jul. 20, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,617, issued Jun. 1, 1993 are specifically directed to control and/or management of injection molding machines. U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,029, issued Mar. 16, 1993 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,742, issued Oct. 23, 1990, each disclose control systems suitable for controlling injection-molding machines, but which are not easily and efficiently transportable from one machine of interest to another.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,127, issued Jan. 25, 1994, to Mii, entitled Centralized Control System For Terminal Device, discloses a centralized control system comprising interface circuits which are provided in respective terminal devices and communications units for transmitting collected information to a remote control device. The system disclosed by Mii is complex and necessarily requires providing each terminal device with a dedicated interface circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,779, issued May 2, 1995, to Motoyama, entitled Method And Apparatus For Controlling And Communicating With Business Office Machines, discloses apparatus dedicated for controlling and communicating with business office devices, such as copiers, facsimiles and/or printers and is not easily adapted for use with other types of machines such as manufacturing equipment, e.g. injection molding machines, die stamping machines, and the like which often requires monitoring analog data in contradistinction with the monitored binary data described in the Motoyama patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,875, issued Jan. 28, 1992, to Weinberger et al., entitled System For Automatically Monitoring Copiers From A Remote location, discloses a system for remotely monitoring the operational status of one or more copy machines having computers integrated therein. The system disclosed by Weinberger et al. is dedicated to remote monitoring of copy machines and necessarily requires a translator device. Thus, the monitoring system disclosed by Weinberger et al. is similar to the system and apparatus disclosed in the '127 and '779 patents in that it is not easily adapted for use with other types of machines, e.g. manufacturing equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,676, issued Oct. 23, 1990, to Ejiri et al., entitled Facsimile Remote Diagnostic System is yet another system dedicated for use with a single type of machine, i.e. facsimile apparatus.
What is needed is a generic type of machine metering and monitoring apparatus that is versatile enough to be easily externally attached and adaptable for use with more than a single type of machine, e.g. office machines, industrial/manufacturing machines, and/or commercially applied machines, where it is necessary or highly desirable to continuously monitor the operational status of the machine(s) of interest.